Sputnik Music Forums - (NOT Grunge) Pearl Jam

Songs(recommended)
Even Flow
Alive <<<<<<<<<<<<<
Why Go
Black
Jeremy

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CD Now
Musically, the distinctions between punk and metal, classic and contemporary rock were never as sharp as media pundits and marketing executives would have had us believe, but it took a gaggle of grungy bands from the Pacific Northwest to hammer the point home as they moshed their way to the top of the charts.
Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam each offered its own potent blend of old and new, but what distinguished Pearl Jam was the unabashedly optimistic vibe that resonated through its songs, a combination of unabashed '60s-style idealism and post-punk grit.

The quintet's music is as beefy as it is lyrical, a seamless blend of raw energy with impeccable musicianship and songwriting that draws as much on blues rock behemoths like Bad Company as the poetic punk of X. Pearl Jam's debut effortlessly encompasses a small universe of moods, from the poignant bite of "Black" to the surging anomie of "Jeremy" and the soaring affirmation of "Alive."

The seeds of everything Pearl Jam would become were set down on Ten, but in retrospect what distinguishes this album is the unassuming manner in which the band goes about its business. Like U2 before it, Pearl Jam's ideals put it behind the pop culture pulpit, which led to an inevitable sense of self-consciousness. Yet in the end it's the conviction of the music, not its stance on Ticketmaster or any other issues that makes Pearl Jam a great band, and though it would go on to make higher profile albums and collaborate with such elder statesmen of rock as Neil Young, Pearl Jam would never sound as flat-out fresh as it does on Ten.

Rolling Stone
On "Ten," Pearl Jam - descended from the late, lamented Mother Love Bone - hurtles into the mystic at warp speed. Singer-lyricist Eddie Vedder sometimes lets his words get way ahead of his good intentions: "I don't question/Our existence/I just question/Our modern needs" ("Garden"). Focus instead on his voice - a ragged, enraged mongrel blend of Robert Plant and James Hetfield - and the Pearls' surprising, and refreshing, melodic restraint. They wring a lot of drama out of a few declarative power chords swimming in echo. 4/5

Q
Already a best seller in the States, Pearl Jam's debut finally gets a UK release and all the hoo-hah has been no word of a lie. From Seattle, Pearl Jam feature Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, former members of Green River (grunge rockers who influenced Nirvana), Mother Love Bone (guitar strummers from the Soundgarden and Alice In Chains school) and Temple Of The Dog (a much-praised one-off project last year). As Pearl Jam, they mix and match their roots to make a raucous modern rock, spiked with infectious guitar motifs and powered with driving bass and drums. Creamed with the guttural howl of vocalist Eddie Vedder, the quintet may well be the face of '90s metal and Ten has already featured as one of the Top 10 albums in Spin and Rolling Stone magazines. Pearl Jam are a socially aware, riff-heavy monster re-designing the embarrassment of metal decades gone, while still cranking it up to 11. 4/5
Reviewed by Dave Henderson

Entertainment in UK
Ten became the biggest selling grunge album due to being accessible and containing eleven consistent tracks that defined a generation. In my opinion, the first half contains the best and most popular songs with 'Alive', 'Even Flow' and 'Jeremy' cited as key tracks to the album's success. Dig deeper and other examples of Pearl Jam's classic rock can be found - 'Porch' along with the stirring 'Deep' contributing to an album best consumed as a whole. 'Black' has become the slow burner of Ten, not a standout at first but over time has turned into the centrepiece and most enduring cut. The improvised lyrics of 'Release Me' contribute to what is one of the most moving alternative tracks in recent memory. The hard rockin' 'Why Go' storms off the blocks faster than any other song on the album, excellent for playing at maximum volume to annoy the neighbours. Pearl Jam, at the time of Ten, were always in the shadows of Nirvana's cultural dominance, which is unfair. Pearl Jam are more than just a Grunge band, more like a modern-day Led Zeppelin delivering classic rock songs.

Daily Volt
When you think of the grunge movement, one name originally comes to mind - Pearl Jam. With their debut album Ten, they won the hearts and acclaim of millions of fans, and set a standard for the alternative world.
So I guess you'd expect me to hold this album up on a pedestal and praise this album to the point of nausea.
Well, get your flame mail ready, 'cause it ain't gonna happen. While this album has some very solid performances and is worthy of some praise, Ten is not the masterpiece many people want to make this album out to be. It is, in fact, spotty.
Eddie Vedder and crew deserve great praise for their two hits, "Alive" and "Jeremy," songs which defy the rules of radio success because of the common lack of rhymes. Maybe this is what makes these songs so appealing - the fact that they break the mold. The dual guitar attack of Stone Gossard and Mike McCready is a powerful force that hasn't been heard often in rock music, and Jeff Ament's bass work is subtle but as powerful as a sledgehammer.
two other songs stand out as solid efforts from Pearl Jam. "Evenflow" is another song released as a single with a scorching guitar line. However, the surprise here is "Release," a song whose power is in its gentleness. Vedder's vocals build from a soft hum to a wail that chills to the bone. Some versions I've heard on low-quality bootlegs from their first tour are quite powerful - even blowing away this version.
But the rest of Ten is quite stagnant. "Why Go" is a little too wild and uncontrolled, while "Black" tends to ramble.too much. A good portion of the second half of the album is made up of sheer filler, songs which are nothing special. In fact, if it weren't for the two hits, Ten would merely be an average debut album, not the multi-million seller it became.
So what caused Ten to build from sluggish sales to the phenomenon it became? One word: airplay. Another word: overkill. While bands like Soundgarden and Nirvana earned their dues and took their time building up a fan base, Pearl Jam seemed to come from nowhere and overtake their competition. (And please don't flame me to remind me about Green River and Mother Love Bone - if it hadn't been for Andrew Wood's overdose, Pearl Jam would never have happened... and they were together only for one album, for Chrissake.)
But with the advent of alternative popular radio (and a huge media push from Sony Music), Pearl Jam went from nobodies to headliners. (I had the opportunity to interview Pearl Jam before their breakthrough - and I passed it by. Chalk up one of the few mistakes I've made.)
while the singles on this one are worth the effort and are justification enough to purchase this one, Ten is not the par excellence fans of Pearl Jam make it out to be. It's worth checking out, just be cautious on many of the tracks.

Whole Note
Pearl Jam, formed from the 'band' Temple of the Dog' with members of Soundgarden, releases their first album. It was released at the right time, right when Grunge became a house-hold name. Eddie Veddar, lead singer and soon to be rhythm guitarist, became somewhat a messiah and a sex symbol for years after the album was released, one of those things that haunted him. But the album, great with it's core Grunge and intense sound, also had a haunting. Jeremy, the biggest hit that Pearl Jam so far has, created such a large stir and so much gossip, that Pearl Jam decided after finished filming their second video, 'Oceans' (also on the album) they decided never to make a video ever again. Which is a shame, since they made GREAT videos, different videos, one that would slap the face of modern videos and make them good. Even though this album shows Pearl Jam at it's strongest, most intense recordings, it also shows them at their deepest. The song 'Release', 'Oceans', and 'Black', all show Pearl Jam's deep and echoic sound. The song 'Garden', would be found all over albums by Creed, even though this is about 7 years before Creed ever formed. Pearl Jam diffinetly was original, still is, but has been copied and produced many times. This album is great and should be among the other great Grunge albums, since it was one of them that made it with Nirvana's Nevermind. This album is Pearl Jam at their best.

Life 2 the Max
Ten was the first album from Pearl Jam, released in 1991, yet it is still the most popular and well known Pearl Jam album. With big hits like 'Alive,' 'Evenflow,' and 'Jeremy' this album really put Pearl Jam on the map!!

A band that had formed out of the break up of the 80's love rock band Mother Love Bone. Moving from California to Seattle, Stone Gossard (guitar) and Jeff Ament (bass) linked up with the vocalist Eddie Vedder and the guitar genius Mike McCreedy. Although Dave Krusen played Drums on Ten, he was not their original drummer. In fact Pearl Jam have gone through many drummers and are now playing with the ex-Soundgarden member Matt Cameron. Anyway, these guys produced some of the most amazing music together. Linked together in style and friendship with the bands Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. Pearl Jam are the only big grunge band that have survived this long and yet the only band people really think of as grunge is Nirvana. Pearl Jam deliberately didn't make any music videos for a number of years to prevent them from becoming big rock stars. Despite this, they are still popular and you will still see their old music videos on MTV 2 every now and then.